From the Tapes
by arkmj
Summary: Dean is in Hell and Sam is following Dean's footsteps in ways to deal... .from the bottom of the bottle. When Sam gets a call about his dad's storage compartment, Sam finds something from Dean's past and learns something he never really knew. His brother
1. Tapes

* * *

From the Tapes

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any characters that were/are on the show._

* * *

One week. It had been one week since he watched his brother die and be taken to Hell, literally. Taking another swig of the liquid in the bottle Sam stared into the blackness of the room. He hadn't really moved from this spot or room since he had arrived back at Bobby's. Just drinking to lose feeling and thoughts, to stop feeling the pain and defenselessness he felt as Dean died, and all the thoughts that came with memories.

"Sam you in here?" Bobby's voice filtered through his thoughts. Looking up as the door opened, Sam squinted as light from the hallway filtered into the darkened room where he had been for the past 24 hours with a bottle of whiskey. "Sam you can't go on this way," Bobby sighed seeing Sam sitting on the floor surrounded by his father's journal, weapons and some belongings of Deans.

"I failed him, after everything he did for me, I failed him. Bobby," Sam looked at the older man, "my brother is in hell." Bobby felt for Sam, he had known both Sam and Dean for as long as he could remember. Following their dad around the country fighting off evil and learning to be soldiers in the never ending war of good vs. evil. Sam seemed to be paying the price too often then not.

"Someone called Dean's cell, someone about your dad's old storage locker. Payment is due and want to know if you'll be paying or coming to load up everything there." Sam thought for a moment, remembering when he and Dean first learned about the locker, it wasn't even a year ago.

"I'll go check things out, maybe there will be something there, an answer!" Sam suddenly jumped and blew past the older man, quickly leaving in the impala. Bobby just shook his head and walked down stairs to the kitchen. He needed a drink, this was the second time he had dealt with one of the Winchester boys losing a brother, and from what he could see Sam wasn't too far off the mark of following Dean into becoming obsessed about finding a way to bring the dead back to life.

"Damned Winchesters, got nothing but death wishes and 9 lives." He muttered.

* * *

Sam reached the storage locker within a day's drive, straight. When opening the locker he stared at the shelves of stuff in the room, some boxes were stacked in the corner and a table covered in dusty stuff and trinkets. Flicking the light he walked towards the shelf of books when something caught his eye, a box. It wasn't as dusty as the rest of the stuff, meaning it had been disturbed more recently than the rest or it was new. Detouring to inspect it, Sam saw his dad's scrawl written in black marker clearly saying: 'Dean'. Opening the box he saw random things, toys that Dean had while growing up, the few pictures left of their mom with Dean or their dad. Sifting further into the box Sam found notebooks, random pieces of paper, cassettes and video recorder tapes with a hand held video camera. Furrowing his brow, Sam picked up the camera and a tape marked simply by a date, '06/19/03'.

Popping the tape in and turning the camera on Sam started to view the tape.

* * *

_'Ello peoples! Here we are on a our lovely hunting trip cross-country for oh I don't know...what would you say Deanna? The ba zillionth time?' _There was no one in the picture, instead the view outside of a moving car, while narrated by a females voice doing a fake British accent. When the camera started to move it moved to her while she posed like she was thinking hard before she moved the camera again. This time landing on Dean who was driving.

_'I'm not Deanna, skank,' _Dean threw over his shoulder as he weaved through traffic and smiling.

_'Whatever you say Deanna, don't mind Deedee, she-he is a sour puss who doesn't get any action!' The girl said to the camera while wagging her eyebrows. 'And with Deanna and I is my brother dearest and the smelliest there is, well aside from Deanna's laundry, Teague the Tea-bag! __**bad trumpet entrance impression." **__The screen moved to a young man sitting next to Dean in the front seat. He had his head laying against the seat and was trying to ignore the camera, and was succeeding before another girl came into the picture and started to do something to his ear on the right, what she was doing couldn't be seen by the camera. Whatever it was the guy, Teague shot up from his lounging position while rubbing his furiously. "And Tea-bag just got a special treat from the special Gin!" The screen showed Gin, a girl with flaming red hair with soft blue eyes. Turning her attention to the camera she blew and kiss and smiled flirtatiously. "Ok... that's enough of that. Save the mushy gushy for Tea-bag, please!" The narrators voice came, the view became shaky before there was a pause and then a jump and once again the view was centered in on the original camera-woman. Motioning to the camera to 'be quiet' she slowly moved closer tot he front seat where Dean sat lounging in the passenger's seat, sleeping. Out of no where she produced a feather and started to slowly run over Dean's face. At first Dean didn't do anything, but slowly and surely his face would twitch or he'd swat at whatever was tickling him. The entire time the girl in the picture was trying not laugh. Suddenly she pulled the feather back and licked the side of Dean's face, causing him to shoot up and hit his head on the ceiling, causing both girls to crack up laughing._

"_What the fuck?!" Dean exclaimed wiping his face where he was licked._

"_Oops?" The girl said giggling._

"_Oops? You just accidentally licked my face?" Dean looked at her like she was crazy before he dived over the front of the seat and started tickling her._

"_And this is Deanna and Rej's foreplay...so we're going to turn the camera away from that un-godly sight and look at moi!" The camera shook again and then showed the red head who was earlier called 'Gin'. "As previously stated I am the all wonderful Gin, short for and Ginny, but I like Gin. Sounds more mysterious!" She said dramatically before looking to her side at where Dean and Rej were, "ok if you guys wanted the backseat to your selves all you had to do was ask! Yeesh, hogs I swear. Raised in a barn and all!"_

"_Nope just the back seat!" Dean's voice could be heard slightly muffled while Rej laughed._

"_Dean...why is your head in my sister's shirt?" A guy's voice came in, the camera moved to see Teague staring at the car like it was diseased._

"_She's trying to suffocate me!" Dean's muffled voice responded, Gin moved the camera to show Dean's head, indeed, under Rej's shirt while Rej laid across the back seat and was laughing hard. Dean was straddling her legs and his head rested on her stomach. "Your stomach is very loud you know that, Rej?" Dean asked, still muffled._

"_What?" Rej looked down at her stomach._

"_It's very loud, I don't think it likes me," Dean pulls his head out from the shirt and looks at he rstomach, "shh, not so loud!" He said is a bad version of a little kids voice being serious. This caused Rej to curl up in fits of laughter, causing Dean to fall on to her more, laughing. Looking up at the camera he smiled and waved at the camera._

"_I swear they are nuts," Teague's voice muttered from behind the camera while Gin laughed softly and switched the camera off._

* * *

Rewinding the tape Sam paused it where Dean looked at the camera. In the little bits of the tape Sam was seeing a side of his brother he never really saw. He wasn't chasing after the nearest and easiest girl or drinking, he was being a regular guy with some friends. Closing the the screen of the camera Sam found more tape sin the box, all marked with dates around the same time as the first. Grabbing the entire box he headed out the door only to be met with the owner of the storage area. "Here," he handed him a wad of money and locked the compartment before taking off.

_A.N - Tell me what you think!_


	2. Phone

From the Tapes

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_Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any characters that were/are on the show._

* * *

When Sam reached Bobby's house later that night he was buzzing with adrenalin, or obsession. These tapes of Dean's were the root of it. He wanted to know who these people on the tapes were and how they knew his brother. Hell he wanted to know his brother, someone he apparently didn't know everything about him, like he thought he had. Grabbing all the tapes from the front seat, Sam bounded out of the Impala and plowed his way into Bobby's front door, which made the older man jump from his sitting position, "what the hell!". Freezing at the sight of a gun pointed at him, Sam blinked at Bobby for a moment before Bobby lowered the weapon. "Sam what's wrong?"

"Nothin'...uh Bobby did you ever know Dean to go on road trips with other hunters?" Sam asked quickly still not able to totally slow down. The older hunter just raised an eyebrow at him and stared at him.

"What?"

"Uh Dean going on trips with other hunters, around his age...siblings or friends?" Sam pieced.

"Boy what are you talking about? What's gotten into you?" Swallowing Sam placed the tapes and camera on the table and sat down in front of Bobby. "At the storage compartment I found these tapes of Dean's. They're of him with other hunters, I'm assuming. I think the people on the tapes are siblings and friends of his."

"Sam that could be anyone. It wasn't un common for you brother and dad to seperate and hunt with other hunters. Why does this have you all riled up?"

"I-i-i just need know," Sam said looking at him with a pitiful look. Sighing Bobby sat back in his chair.

"What's the names? Maybe I know them."

"Uh...Teague and Rej?"

"Draven?" Bobby asked immediately with a somewhat surprised look on his face.

"Uh, maybe? I don't know, you know them?"

"The only Teague and Rej, or Reja, I know are the Draven twins, born and raised in hunting. Damn good ones too, what about them?"

"So you know them?" Bobby nodded slowly, still not sure where this was going, "do you know where I could find the?"

"Find them? Why?"

"Bobby..."

"Sam, Teague Draven is dead, has been fore years." Sam slumped and leaned his elbows on the table, another block.

"What about her?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"After Teague died, she dropped off the radar hunting wise. I assumed she either quit cold turkey or was killed too. It's not uncommon for a hunter to disappear, especially if they are alone." Bobby explained, "as for being friends with Dean? I assume they were friends, all of them. You dad hunted with their dad a couple of times, Dean and the twins were the same age, similar up bringing and lived and breathed hunting. Their dad was a lot like yours, obsessed and focused on hunting alone. Sam what is this all about? Why are you wanting to know about them?"

"I was thinking maybe they'd or Rej, would know how to save Dean. Since you said they-"

"Sam, if she's alive, I doubt Reja would have any more answers than us. Again, if she's even alive."

"Well what about her dad?"

"Chuck? Last I heard he was hunting mainly on the west coast, but that was at least 2 years ago. Haven't heard of him since." Sam rested his head in his hands and tried to figure out his next move. "Sam don't start chasing ghosts of the past, or creating them." Bobby said softly looking at the tortured young man, standing up he walked into the other room and grabbed Dean's cell phone. "If Reja is still alive or has been in the last year or two, your brother probably kept in contact with her or knew how to get a hold of her. Best guess to start would be his phone." Handing the phone to Sam, Bobby walked out of the room. Sam started at the device in his hands. In his craze of rush he hadn't thought of the obvious, Dean. Taking in a deep breath Sam started to scroll through the long list of contacts Dean had kept in his phone. No where listed was Reja or Teague or even Draven. Feeling defeated dropped the phone next to the tapes and camera.

"Come on Dean, any girl you knew you kept her number. Why don't you have hers?" He asked himself staring at the phone as the main screen dimmed and eventually blacked out. Once again he felt defeated and lost, and the urge to drink to the bottom of a bottle was starting to hit him in tittle waves. Picking up the camera limply, Sam turned it one and pressed 'play' to watch the tape.

_The screen shook a bit before the picture adjusted and showed the wall of a cheap motel. No one talked as they obviously started walking around the room before landing on to bodies laying on one of two beds, surrounded by books, papers and note books. Laying on their stomach, one of the bodies was obviously a female by her very feminine curves, while the other body was a male and also laying on his stomach. Getting closer it showed the bodies were Dean and Reja sound asleep. A giggle could be heard behind the camera, "and here's the sleepy heads," a woman's voice whispered as the camera angled around to show their faces._

"_What are you doing?" A clear voice came from behind, causing the camera to swing around and land on Teague walking through the door._

"_Filming sleepy 1 and 2," the voice replied. Teague smiled and looked at the bed before he dived and started jumping on the bed, causing Rej to jack knife up, knocking him over onto Dean who had the wind knocked out of him._

"_Mother fucker!" Dean groaned as Teague's elbow landed dangerously close to his jewels._

"_Bitch!" Reja shouted attacking her brother, who was still onto of Dean, causing to Dean groan more at the added weight._

"_Squeshed!" Dean got out as his hands reached around Teague and grabbed Reja and throwing her over the side of the bed and kicking Teague off of him, "you two weigh a ton!" He got out before he himself went flying off the side of the bed, being dragged off by Rej. The camera moved to the side of the bed to see and mess of limbs and a string of curses come from the two. _

"_Psycho!"_

"_Sadist!"_

"_Bastard!"_

"_I know my dad thanks!"_

"_Bitch!"_

"_Yes you are!"_

_Dean and Rej wrestled, trying to get the upper hand and would have continued if Teague hadn't climbed back on the bed and lifted his sister up and through her across to the other bed. Landing and then skidding across the bed, Rej flipped her brother and friend off before tossing a pillow at the camera, "stalker!" She shouted as she realized for the first time what she was wearing. Underwear and a short tank that showed off her long legs and flat stomach. Gin, who's doing the filming, cracks up laughing while Teague hits Dean with a pillow when he begins to leer at her._

"_And that's enough for now!" Gin exclaimed as Dean charged at her, the seen jumbled around before being turned off and then fritzing to another setting, in the Impala._

"_Hey Chick hand me some caffeine!" Dean asks from the front seat, next to him Reja reaches down to the floor board and hands him a canister._

Sam freezes the camera, and grabbed Dean's phone and looked through contacts again. Sure enough 'Chick' was listed. Clicking on the name, a phone number came up on the screen along with an Georgia address. Blinking at the address Sam didn't know what to do, he was stumped.

* * *

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

* * *

Sam stared at the door and tried to relax his racing heart. He was jitterey, whether it was from nerves or the 10 coffees he had, he wasn't sure. After moments of waiting, no one was coming to the door. Swallowing hard, Sam looked through the windows at the top of the door, no one in site. Knocking again he waited again. "Come on, be here someone," he muttered to himself before he realized no one was coming. Letting a defeated sigh, he turned and walked to the steps of the porch. Down the steps and starting down the walk, Sam suddenly heard the door swing open.

"Can I help you?" Turning around quickly he was greeted with a woman dressed in ripped jeans and tied t-shirt.

"Uh, yeah," Sam started but suddenly went blank. It was her! "Reja Draven?" The woman's relaxed stance suddenly showed signs of defense.

"Who's asking?"

"My name's Sam, I wanted to talk to you-"

"Who are you?" She asked abruptly.

"I'm a hunter, I was wondering if you could help me-"

"I'm not a hunter anymore, find a new friend," she interrupted again and started to close the door.

"I need help saving my brother, Dean!" He yelled.

"Good luck then," she tossed back not stopping.

"Dean Winchester." Reja froze and stared at him, "Dean is my brother."

"Winchester?" Sam nodded, "You're Sammy?"

"Uh, it's Sam and yeah, I need your help." Reja just stared at him with an unreadable expression which made Sam uncomfortable and nervous at the same time. When she finally blinked she looked to the floor before staring at him again and opening her door more.

"Come on in," she stepped aside and let him walk into her house.

* * *

After be let into her house and shown to the living room, Sam waited to her to have some kind of expression instead of the unreadable or blank one she wore. _'True hunter, disguise your emotions,'_ he thought absentmindedly as she sat across from him. "Why are you here?" She asked suddenly and to the point.

"I told you-"

"Don't lie to me, Dean's dead so wanna try again?" She cocked her head to the side and waited for a response.

"I need your help to save him, from Hell." Sam stated.

"And you just thought I'd hold the answer? Bull, there's more to your reason." Sam couldn't help but smile, internally, when seeing how Bobby was right about her being like Dean. Suspicious and to the point in questions. "I know for a fact Dean never mentioned me to you since that's how Dean was, so for you to suddenly show up on my door step and ask for help is a little off. How'd you find me?"

"Dean's phone..."

"And?"

"These," reaching into his shirt pocket he tossed one of the tapes onto the table, "I found this one along with others in a box of Dean's. I got curious, saw you on the tape and thought you could help me save him." Reja stared at Sam, still unreadable before she stood up and walked to a set of windows.

"Dean called me when he made the deal and told me about it, I guess it was his way of starting to say goodbye. After I talked to him and I reached to every resource I could to find a way to break the deal and keep you kicking. I exhausted every possibility right up to the last day." Turning around, Sam saw pain in her eyes, the first emotion. "The only way I saw him living was you guys killing the holder of the contract or some how finding a guardian angel to save him from the pits." Sam watched her as she composed herself, "you have your answer, so where's mine."

"What?"

"Why else are you here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean why does a tape that's from 2003 suddenly spark your interest and you track down someone on the tape? To help save a soul from hell? Eh maybe part of it, but there's more." She said looking him down. Sam realized she was as sharp as a hunter could be, "so either spill of get the hell out."

"I wanted to know Dean," Reja cocked an eyebrow up and waited for him to continue, "on the tapes I saw a side of Dean I never saw."


	3. Idea

"_Hey Sammy, just checking up on you. Hope you're alright..." Dean didn't know what else to say so he just closed the cell phone and stared at it._

"_You ok?" Looking up Reja stood next to him with two beers in hand. Nodding he looked back at his phone. "You sure?" She asked again sitting in front of him with a beer dangling in front of his face. "Keep lying and I drink both on my own," she said teasingly. _

"_Just called Sammy," he said simply as he grabbed the beer and took a large gulp from it._

"_And?" She asked drinking from her own bottle._

"_And nothing."_

"_Bullshit Winchester, your a lousy liar when it comes to your brother. Try again."_

"_I...I don't know." _

"_You miss you don't you?" She asked softly leaning forward on her knees and looking up at him. When he wouldn't look at her or respond, she got her answer. "There's nothing wrong with missing your little brother, Dean. It's normal and about as normal you'll ever get," Reja stated taking a swig of her beer. Dean just rolled his eyes at her and drank his beer, she was infuriating. "You love me," she said simply causing him to look at her and realize she somehow knew what he was thinking._

"_How do you do that seriously? You a psychic?"_

"_Nah, I just think like you and know so well, unfortunately." She replied shrugging her shoulders and finishing her beer off._

"_Where's the love birds?" He asked referring to her brother and girlfriend._

"_They are inside," she stated simply knowing he'd catch her drift. "They are about as subtle as you are. Want another beer?"_

"_Do I have to brave to go inside to get one?"_

"_Nope. I was smart and brought a cooler packed, enough to get us through at least 1 round, maybe 2. but that'd be pushing it," she tossed over her shoulder as she walked back to the little cabin and grabbed the said cooler. "Start a fire will ya? I'm getting eaten alive but damned bugs." Laughing he started to make a bonfire and sat back with and drank._

"_I was thinking about something," Reja started, still staring at the dancing colors in front of her._

"_Oh no!" He joked but received a punch in the chest, "bout what?" He asked laughing._

"_We should road trip, like what most people our age do."_

"_Road trip? Are you serious?" He laughed at the crazy idea._

"_Why not? Us and the two inside, we'll trip and drink our way around the country."_

"_We already do that, dumb ass. How'd this be any different?"_

"_It'd be just the four of us hunting and doing it our way. Our old men are talking bout working together anyway, 6 people is too much to do a job unless its big. The two of them take off and do their thing while we go and party and do our thing. Think about it, we choose what to do, when to do. All the while drink and hit some great times! It's completely different from what we do already. This way we work but with the pleasure!" Reja finished smiling and quirking her eyebrow at him, as if daring him to find her wrong. Shaking his head he turned back to the fire and drank the rest of his beer. He thought about Reja's idea, he had to admit it did sound extremely appealing, and felt like he needed a break from his dad. Sure he loved the guy, in the best way he could, but since Sammy had taken for for college, John Winchester had been on edge and it was often taken out of Dean verbally. _

_Getting tired of waiting, Reja stood up and straddled her friends legs. Dean leaned back so they weren't completely bumping into each other. Instinctively he laid his arms on her thighs, after swiping her beer for a swig. "Come'on you know you need time away from the Corporal, and I've giving you the perfect excuse. You're just trying to be all brooding and Heath cliff like." Reja jabbed before taking her beer back and drinking some. She smiled when he Dean didn't look at her at first but then slowly started looking at her out of the corner of his eyes. "You know I'm right," she teased as her smile grew wider._

"_Fine," Dean relented facing her fully, stealing her beer again and guzzling almost what was left of the contents. Reja's smile turned into, what he called, a shit eating grin that went along with her cocking her head in a triumphant movement. "You're fight dirty," he muttered, trying act as if he really didn't like the idea. Reja just cupped his face and pecked him on the lips, "like I said, dirty."_

"_No dirtier than you, Deanna." She threw back before pecking him again and then standing up and heading to the house. "Want another a beer?"_

"_Think its safe to get close?"_

"_They should be in intermission by now, enough time to grab a few more!" She yelled back as she reached the house porch. Dean just let out a little laugh and shook his head. If he ever wondered why they were friends, she just demonstrated it. She fought just as dirty as he would._


	4. Pictures

Reja stared at the younger man who sat with defeat surrounding him. She recognized that and knew exactly what it felt like to lose a brother, she had witnessed it first hand and never let a day go by that she didn't remember. Sam licked his lips and bit his lip before looking back at Reja who looked at him with a scrutinizing eye. For some reason he felt she could easily read him, no matter hard he tried to prevent it. "What do you wanna know?" Reja asked suddenly looking away out the window. Sam felt his mouth fall open, he seriously thought she'd just tell him to 'fuck off' and be done with him. She was giving him an open invitation to ask her anything?

"Tell me...about him," Sam found him self saying, when realizing he really had no idea what he had wanted to ask her. Reja blinked and looked at him before sitting on the ledge of the window.

"Start from the beginning?" She asked leaning on her knees. Sam just nodded. "I met Dean when we were probably no more than 15, 16. My dad was on a hunt and had heard of yours through the grape vine. Hunters gossip more than teenage girls do. Anyway the two of them met up and decided to work with each other on the case. My brother and I met Dean the same day, you were at school." Reja took a breath and cleared her mind, "the three of us together connected. Raised in hunting and knew nothing out side of it really. The next day I was enrolled at the local high school with Dean and we worked with our dads on the case. Teague and Dean those two always seemed to be on the same wave when it came to hunting, they just clicked." She snapped her fingers as she stared not at Sam, but random place on the floor. To Sam, she looked as if she was watching the events play out in her mind. She was remembering. "After the case was done, Teague and I kept in contact with your brother afterwards, and our dads worked with each other a few more times after that."

"Why didn't I ever know you?" Sam questioned, causing Reja to snap her attention back at him.

"You wanted nothing to do with the world of supernatural. Anytime I was at your place you were at school or being a 'geek boy' as Dean would call you." Reja replied with a small smile on her face, Sam himself couldn't help but smile at the nickname. Something he missed hearing from Dean, something he never thought he'd miss.

"So what lead to doing the tapes?"

"It was the summer after you left. Things were thick between your dad and brother, and it didn't get any better when Teague, my dad and I joined to work on a case. With the load of us in close quarters, tempers flared and buttons were pushed. Teague and I had cabin out in the middle of no where they we kept up, so we trekked out there to get away from the parentals. One night we were talking and the idea of doing our own college experience came up and we decided to road trip together and kill big nasties on the way. At the end of the trip we'd meet up with the dads and go our separate ways." Reja finished smiling a sad smile, leaning her arms onto her knees she stared at her hands as she laced her fingers. Sam just took everything in, still staring at her hands, she continued, "right before we left Gin was at a store and bought a tape recorder and thought it'd add the effect of the experience to document everything so we could look back years later and remember the good ol' times. So that's what we did, we recorded everything, taking turns driving and being the camera person. Most of the time we'd just get stupid acting and record the most random or craziest things." Reja let out a little laugh at this, "anything. It was our way of trying to be normal, even for a few seconds, we got to be normal. What we all wanted deep down where we'd never admit it."

"So that's it?" Sam asked. For some reason he felt...let down.

"Well that's how we met and started on the trip. Sam...if you want to know Dean, the way I did, then watch those tapes. I don't know what else you want me to say." Reja said in an apologetic tone.

"With me he was always cocky, knew everything and never questioned things when it came to the supernatural. He was always ready to take everything head on, with little thought." Reja smiled at this and nodded, "what he like that with you guys? Was it just show or was that him?"

"What do you think?" Reja countered. "Sam you're fishing for something, but I don't think you even know what. You are also trying to hold onto something, really hard and no matter what you do it seems to just slip further and further away with every passing second, with every drink of whiskey." The last part made Sam stare at her with wide eyes, he had showered throughly before coming here.

"How'd..."

"I've been in the same spot you are right now. You fish and grasp at everything that is connected to them, but it seems no matter nothing works. I did it all, seen it all, drank it all, everything. When Teague died I was lost, he was my brother. It had always been him and me, no matter what. Then suddenly one day he was gone and I was flattened...and plastered. I went on chases to find a way to change it, to forget, to find a way to make him come back. At the end of the day and night, I was the one left in the dust of sulfur and with a killer hang over." Standing up Reja looked at him, "I hope you don't get to that point like I did." Before either could move or say anything the sound of a door opening and slamming shut emitted through the house. Followed by the quick patter of feet running on hardwood while something heavy dropped dramatically on the floor, left in the dust.

"Mommy! I'm home!" A child's voice yelled out, not seconds later did a blur of a small boy, Sam guessed, bee line into the room right into Reja's waiting arms. "Guess what! I gots a 'ilver star t'day!" The boy couldn't have been anymore than 3 or 4 years old with a messy mop of black curls on his head. With his back to Sam, his facial features were a mystery to Sam. "Whos dat?" The boys voice broke through Sam's thoughts.

"Honey this is Sam, he's an old friend of mine. Sam this is my son Teague. Say hi," Teague just cocked his head to the side and studied the strange man. His bright green eyes were piercing and scrutinizing for someone so young. He looked every bit like Reja with his dark skin tone and hair, all except his eyes. Reja's were a light green that favored a light gray, not a hazel combination. Not moving or making an attempt to say anything to Sam, Teague stayed glued to his mother's legs, even wrapping one around her jean clad leg, as if he was protecting her. Sam couldn't help but smile at that.

"Hi Teague, I'm Sam, how are you?" Sam greeted crouching down to the young boys level. Reaching out, he held his hand and waited. Teague just squinted his eyes, as if contemplating him, before he slowly reached out and took Sam's extremely large hand to shake.

"Hi," he mumbled after Reja nudged him with her knee. He knew what his mother wanted and knew better than not to do what she wanted. Especially if he wanted to get to watch Scooby-Doo and Batman later. "How do you know my mommy?" Sam faultered, what was he suppose to say? Looking at Reja, Reja caught his look and crouched down behind Teague.

"Sam is Dean's brother. Remember Dean? Mommy's friend who would call and send you presents?" This surprised Sam, in some sense, while a the same time it didn't surprise him. Dean was always good with kids. "Sam is Dean's little brother, well little big brother anyways. He came to see mommy about some boring business." Teague looked at his mother and smiled at the mention of Dean. The kid was obviously fond of his brother, this made Sam hurt.

"Zeppwin rules!" Teague giggled. Yep, the kid definitely knew Dean. "So Dean's your brother? I always wanted a brother but mommy says no." Leaning closer to Sam, Teague whispered, "I keep asking Santa but all I get is a puppy and a Batman tool belt, the real one." Sam wanted to laugh. "Mommy can I have my snack? Batman will be on soon!" Teague's full attention turned to Reja before he bounded out of the room into the next, where the familiar click of a T.V. Button followed by sound of cartoons bouncing around the screen.

Sam followed Reja as she walked into a small kitchen and began to prepare some snacks for the boy. Above the kitchen sink there was a cut out in the wall, like a window, that viewed into the next room where Teague sat transfixed on the flashing colors of Batman fighting the Joker. See he felt like he was imposing suddenly. Suddenly he felt as if he had snapped out of a reverie haze of alcohol and obsessiveness. He had just dropped into some woman's life who had a young son, both of who knew his brother. 'Knew' as in past tense. He was living in the past. Reja, out of the corner of her eye, say something change in Sam. His facial expression went from scanning everything to thoughtful, to something of a realization.

Not pausing at her routine, she let Sam come out of his thoughts after she gave Teague his afternoon snack. His head snapped and his attention directed at her. "Lost in thoughts?" She asked handing him a cold bottle, looking down Sam saw that it was a chilled beer. Taking it he gulped a portion down. "Come'on, Teague will be busy for awhile. I wanna show you something." Following her back into the living room she motioned for him to sit on the couch. When he was situated she handed him the photo album from earlier. "You wanna know you brother, here. Pictures." Then she walked out of the room. Looking down on the open page, Sam saw a mass of pictures. Most with Reja holding infant Teague or Reja with Dean. Taking in each picture, he also read the little captions below the photographs. Most of them staring with "Teague's first...". Flipping through the pages he saw older pictures of Dean and Reja along with other people. One that caught his eye was of Dean and their father leaning again the Impala. Both with arms crossed and ankles crossed looking to their right, dressed in worn jeans, boots and layered shirts that were rolled to the elbow, and both oblivious of the shot. "John and Dean – 2003" read as the caption. Slipping the picture out of the sleeve Sam stared at it. So many emotions whirled inside of him, he felt himself become dizzy.

Finally putting the picture down next to him continued to look through the pages. Some pictures were very likely from the infamous road trip, Sam came to that conclusion by the repetitive nature of randomness in the pictures and only four people with random objects or people along side them.

From the other room Reja watched as Dean's little brother got a glimpse into his life after his baby brother left. What he'd never know was the pain he caused when he left or how Dean dealt with it. Watching emotions play off his face Reja felt herself reliving those moments of lose and confusion. She just hoped that Sam didn't go down the entire path she did. Turning away to give him privacy, Reja walked into the next room and watched her son be enthralled with his cartoons. There wasn't a day that she wasn't thankful for him, he, in a corny way, saved her. Smiling as he started to move his arms like he was fighting the villain himself, Reja walked into the room and sat behind him and wrapped her arms around him and watched cartoons with him.

When Sam surfaced from the photo albums, he had a little pile of pictures that he had picked out of the mass and couldn't help but stare at them with no clue why or what to he had done. Was he going to just going to slip them into his jacket pocket and leave?

Maybe.


	5. Done

* * *

From the Tapes

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any characters that were/are on the show.

* * *

_

_In the horizon the sun was starting to peek over the endless landscape and there wasn't a soul on the road with him, save the three people in the car. Looking in the rear-view mirror is stared at one of his best friends as he lay with the love of his life wrapped in his arms. He'd never admit it to anyone but he envied his friend, to the extent he sometimes resented him. Feeling those said emotions boil to the surface, he looked away back to the long stretch of pavement. He loved driving at times like this, when no one was around. He could let his mind wonder to the deep abyss of his thoughts and not be disturbed. Even where people were with him in the car, he could still daze out to think his deep thoughts that no one would ever believed he'd ever thought. Thinking that thought, he looked to his right where his other best friend say curled, up around a deflated pillow while an equally deflated one rested against the passenger door where her head leaned against, slightly moving whenever the car hit an uneven surface. _

_Looking at her, you would never believe she had seen equally tragic events in her short life. Nor would you guess she was the biggest bitch anyone could ever cross… but she was. But at the same time she was the most genuine and caring person he had met, save his mother…well what little he could remember and what little his father ever told him of her in his moments with help of Jimmy, Jack and Jose. _

_Letting out a sigh, he turned his attention back to the road and again his thoughts.8 wondered. This time back, back to when life was simpler and happy. He remembered moment leading up to that dreadful night that forever burned him and family. The night mother died killed the man his father had been, it destroyed any chance of his brother knowing their mother or ever knowing anything outside the life of the Job. Again the emotions of resentment began to come to the surface Gripping the steering wheel tighter and pressing on the gas harder, the car rumbled a rage filled speed and as the distance became the present and the present became the past.

* * *

_

"Find some keepers?" Reja's voice broke through Sam's thoughts. Turning to see her leaning against the door jam, Sam turned back to the pictures he held in his hands. "You can have them, I have multiple copies of them all."

"When was the last time you talked to Dean?" Sam croaked out, his throat felt thick and dry.

"Couple weeks ago," she replied softly, "he called to say good bye to Teague and me."  
The soft padding on the floor told Sam she was walking into the room and towards him. She sat on the end of the bed she had told him was his until he decided to leave. Twisting to face him as she looked at the open book of pictures next to her. "He told me that he didn't think he was going to beat this one and wanted to do right by telling me so…so that one day I could tell Teague that he wasn't abandoned…and that I wasn't either." A lone tear slipped down her cheek, and for the first time Sam caught a glimpse at what his brother meant to her. "He said that if for some way you found a way around the deal to where you both lived, he would call me." Wiping the tear away Reja pulled something out of her pocket. "This is the tape that I kept after the trip, I kept this one and gave the rest to Dean. It was the only one I wanted." Taking in a deep breath that shook, "you wanna know the guy I knew, this tape showed it. I can tell you stories and facts you already know…" Sam stared at the little piece of plastic for a few moments before taking it.

"Earlier you said you didn't know what to tell me if I didn't know what I wanted to know," Reja nodded, "why didn't he tell me about you and Teague?" Reja ducked her head quickly.

"At…at the end of the trip we met up with our dads to finish up a haunting that had turned out to be worse than they originally thought, so we stopped our fun and returned the land of the Job. When we all met up, they updated us on the status of everything. A family was literally trapped in this old house with multiple poltergeists, and they weren't going to live to see the outside world again. The presence of yours and my dad had angered them more.

So we split into teams and were going to ambush the house. While one team distracted the poltergeists by trying to get in, the other would take these old tunnels that lead into the house and retrieve the family while also starting the process of removing the spirits." Reja paused, still looking down, this time at the picture book, "Angie and I was teamed with your dad, your brother, Teague and my father were to sneak in. The poltergeists had a thing for females, so we were the distraction. Your dad was back up in case things go bad. Our brothers and my dad snuck in through these old tunnels." Sam nodded understanding the logic of the plan, "the moment the guys were in, the poltergeists got even nastier and went to attack everyone. We all fought, Angie, your dad and I didn't know what was happening in there. Just prayed everyone would walk out."

"So what happened?"

"After some fighting it was over, the boys succeeded in destroying them and freeing the family. When the three of us outside realized the victory we almost started celebrating, almost." Reja shook her hand in a mock victory salute and smiled while swallowing a sob, "When everyone started to come out…Dean…he uh…he uh, he walked straight up to me and hugged me."

"What happened?"

"Teague. Teague was killed by the poltergeists." Suddenly things that had been said before made sense. The job had taken her brother like it had taken Dean, "Dean was supposed to have covered Teague's back when something went astray and Teague ended up dead. He just kept saying how sorry he was."

"What about your dad?"

"_Casualty of war_, was all he had to say." Reja imitated what Sam guessed was her father's gruff voice. Sounded a lot like something his father would say about a situation like that. But in truth, Sam didn't know if his father could be so heartless when it came to losing a son. "My father immediately told me to shape up and get the supplies to burn the…" Reja couldn't finish the sentence. Understanding her more clearly Sam did the only thing he could think of. He pulled her into a hug and didn't say anything; there wasn't a thing he could say that would make her not feel the pain of re-living her brother's death. Sighing, "I'm gonna go crash, night." She said not looking at him and immediately leaving.

* * *

An hour past by, accompanied by several long drinks of whiskey, before Sam worked up the nerve to place the cassette tape in the camera. It then took an additional 23 minutes to close the door and turn the camera on and rewind the tape to the beginning. The last part was the hardest, pressing play. After the additional 23 minutes it took another 17 minutes to do just that, press play. Letting out a whiskey breath he waited for the tape to begin to play.

The screen was black with muffled talking for a few moments before some kind of flickering of light started fill screen. "Freedom fire!" A voice said from off the screen.

* * *

_Gin adjusted the camera again so that the camera would read in the low light but no over read the fire light from the huge fire the boys had built. "Freedom fire!" she yelled when succeeded at her task, Teague laughed at her enthusiasm as he kissed her soundly on the lips. "Stop slobbering," she giggled pulling away from him and watching him make a sad face._

"_No fire pit babies!" Dean joked as he and Reja walked up with the last of their stuff from the Impala._

"_Can't handle it Winchester?" Teague retorted, tossing his friend a bottle of chilled beer._

"_More like I don't wanna put out the fire from puking," Reja muttered grabbing her brother's beer and knocking back a large portion of it. _

"_No just don't wanna see your ugly mug macking on my future wife!" Dean explained causing the girls to laugh and Teague to sneer._

"_You wish," he growled while wrapping his free arm tightly around his fiancée as she flashed the camera around to get the two of them recorded._

"_Now Dean, you promised not to tell him about us!" Gin joked with an obvious wink at Dean's direction. Teague just stared; open mouthed, to Gin; this only caused the trio to laugh harder._

"_Wow…Teague she's already replaced you with the other three legged one here, and you have no back up!" Reja laughed at her brother's face; it felt good to laugh a real laugh without a care in the world. "I guess you could just always follow Gin's line and –"_

"_Shut it!" Teague and Dean both commanded seeing where Reja's twisted mind was leading. At their outburst, Gin and Reja both were thrown into fits of laughter, at the boy's obvious discomfort at Reja's insinuation of homosexuality. Both took large gulps of their beers, in a very manly way, and got far away as possible from one another. Dean placing himself next to Reja while Teague kissed Angie._

"_Awww, our wittle boys are bashful!" Gin exclaimed, Reja nodded as she drank from her beer. Looking out of the corner of her eye, she looked at her best friend. "Alright, we are on our final leg of out impromptu road trip. Right now, on this beau-uitful night we are bon firing it up while drinking our livers into failure. Have anything to say hot stuff?" Gin directed the camera to zero in on Teague. Turning and looking at his fiancée he smiled a genuine smile, "what are you smiling at goof?"_

"_You, beautiful," he said simply as he reached and took the camera out of her hands. Turning the camera to look over the fire pit, there was Reja and Dean sitting close and talking quietly. Both had beers in hand and relaxation emitting from their bodies. Reja said something that caused Dean to burst out laughing like he had before, when looking up while taking in a smoky breath, he saw the camera pointed at him and Reja. Nodding his head he caught her attention to the camera. Reja smiled made a goofy smile and waved in a bad attempt of being a beauty queen._

"_Come'on you guys, do something funny for the camera!" Gin yelled._

"_What are we trick dogs or something?" Dean asked making a face._

"_Guess so...Stare at us long enough we might do a trick!" Reja joked, elbowing Dean in the side while rolling her eyes. "So you want speak or fetch? Because Dean can fetch the best, being the bitch and all."_

"_What!" Dean exclaimed finishing his beer off and tackling Reja. Pulling her into his lap he tickled her mercilessly causing her flail around trying to get free from him. "So who's the bitch now?" Just then Reja was able to twist around to where she could straddle Deans lap and start to give back the torture. The moment Reja started to tickle him, Dean ended up falling backwards off the seat, taking Reja with him. Both landed with a loud thud and groan._

"_Ohmygod! You guys alright?" Gin asked trying to contain her laughter, but failed, as Teague hadn't bothered trying to hide his amusement at the expense of his sister and bestfriend._

"_Just put your worries at ease, I have this all recorded!" Teague announced. All he received was Dean's right middle finger and Reja's left middle finger, flipped high and directed at him and the camera. Gin finally gave in to her uncontrollable laughter. _

_Reja growled at hearing her brother and friends laughter, "so feeling revenge?" She muttered looking up at Dean who still was lying on his back. Looking down at her he gave a grin that had a very evil glint to it. Which made Reja have a matching grin._

"_You guys still alive over there?" Teague finally asked when neither of two made a sound or movement after their show of affection. "Did we hurt your feelings," Teague got to walk around the pit, only to be yanked to the ground and tackled by Reja and Dean.

* * *

_

Sam stopped the tape, in a way he did know this side of his brother. But in his entire life, Dean had never seemed so relaxed as he did on the tape. Taking another long drink of whiskey, Sam picked up one of the pictures Reja gave him. It was a picture of Reja and Dean both, dated just a few weeks before Dean had came to get him from Yale. Dean was obviously holding the camera while Reja leaned into his chest. Both were making faces at each other. This was something Dean never did with him around; sure he was a joker and prankster who had the "devil may care" attitude. But the pictures and tapes showed that wasn't really him. "Just a mask," he whispered.

Slowly walking down the stairs to the front room, where Reja's photographs were, Sam made sure to stay quiet. Not wanting to wake Reja or Teague. Reaching where Reja had the photographs, he opened the one he was looking for, and flipped to the page he wanted. Finding that picture, he slipped it out of the sleeve, he stuffed it in his pocket with the tapes and other pictures. Replacing the book where it belonged, Sam silently left the house.

* * *

_Dean stared at the road ahead of him, his thoughts taking over his mind every once and awhile. Breathing in the chilled morning air he looked at the ground. The others were still asleep in the car, oblivious of his impromptu stop. Letting out a slow breath, he watched as the warmth of his breath played on the slightly cooler air. "Hey, what are you up to?" Reja's sleepy voice came from the cracked window. Looking at her, Dean saw her yawning and rubbing her eyes._

"_Just standing and thinking," he replied as she climbed out of the car. "Felt like stopping for a bit, what are you doing up?"_

"_My feet got cold with you not there to keep them warm," she mumbled as she pulled an oversized sweatshirt over her head. Reaching into the front pocket she pulled out a lighter and pack of cigarettes._

"_Thought you quit?"_

"_And do some dear ol' dad wanted me to? Psssh, yeah right!" She rolled her eyes as she lit up the stick. "Nah, I did for awhile, but some times the job gets to me and alcohol doesn't do much to make the pain go away." She said letting out the smoke, watching it dance in the air as it dissipated. "Do you ever wonder what it would've been like if we hadn't been raised the way we were? Raised like normal children, oblivious of the monsters in the dark?" Reja turned and waited for Dean to answer._

"_All the time," he answered truthfully. Of all the people he had known in his life, he knew whatever he felt or thought he could tell Reja and knew he was safe from judgement._

"_When was the first time you thought it?"_

"_When Sammy started asking me about our mom and why we traveled all the time. I would put off answering him, just wanting him to be a normal little kid for just a little bit longer." Dean replied looking down at Reja's fingers as she played with her cigarette. "What about you?"_

"_The day mom died, before then I never thought about it. But when…when dad came home without her I realized that that wasn't how things were supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to die, and he wasn't supposed to just move in life with the next job." Taking a deep drag of the cancerous stick, Reja held in the smoke, feeling the nicotine course through her body. Slowly letting the smoke out, "after that moment I decided I would forever punish my dad for this cursed life." Dean nodded, "ever do that?"_

"_Yeah. Sometimes I want to just take off and try to start a life of my own like…"_

"_Like Sammy," Reja finished nodding in understanding. "Have you tried to call him?"_

"_No, he won't pick up anyway. So why bother him in his life with mine?" He retorted icily. Reja just stared at him as he looked away from her._

"_Don't put up your mask Dean, I would like to think that I deserve that much respect," she whispered._

"_What a fucked up pair we are," he said after a few moments of silence._

"_This be true, truer than anything you could ever possibly state," she laughed walking to stand in front of him. Leaning into him, Dean instinctively wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. "You know it's said that its not healthy to always pent up your emotions."_

"_Whoever said that is the most chick flicked son of a bitch," Dean laughed, hugging her a little tighter. Reja reciprocated the gesture before pulling back to take a drag off the cigarette, and holding it up as if in offer. Dean raised an eyebrow at this._

"_Don't try to be all innocent, who started smoking with who?" She cocked her hip, causing him to laugh and take the offered item. Taking the last drag from the cigarette, he felt the familiar rush of nicotine run its course in his body before he threw it on the ground and put it out with his boot._

"_There was at least another hit off that!" She exclaimed, causing him to laugh and hug her to him again. "See if I share a drag stick with you anymore!" She huffed hugging him as well. By now the sun was a fiery ball in the sky, in the distant horizon. "I wish there were more moments like this." Dean leaned his head against hers and nodded._

_The two friends stood there, leaning against the Impala just watching the night become day and their moment slowly seep to the back of reality. Knowing that time had passed Reja pulled away from Dean. Smiling a small, sad smile that meant the end of their moment, Dean did the same before giving her a light kiss on the forehead. "Guess we should get back to the two love birds in the car."_

"_Damn stinky T-bag," Reja rolled her eyes smiling. Walking to the passenger seat she climbed in and waited for Dean to do the same and start the car to life once again.

* * *

_

"_Its over!" Gin exclaimed grasping Reja in a tight hug, they had won. Laughing Reja returned the hug while staring at the house, waiting. Something wasn't right. A few moments passed before the family came rushing out of the house. All looking frazzled and scarred around out of their minds. Before Reja could as where her brother and friend were, Dean appeared on the porch, looking haggard and defeated. Something was wrong. He stopped at the edge of the stairs and looked at Reja directly. Going down the stairs he walked straight to her and hugged her in a bone-crushing hug. "Dean?" Gin asked confused at his behavior._

"_Dean, what's wrong?" Reja asked feeling him tighten his hold on her. "Dean?"_

"_I'm sorry," he whispered._

"_What?"_

"_I'm sorry, so sorry. I'm sorry." He kept repeating over and over as he pulled away. Nothing could be said before Gin let out a scream that was deafening. "I failed," he croaked. Reja's eyes grew wide and started to breathe harder and faster. Gin was still screaming, but she couldn't seem to process it as she stared at her best friend's face._

"_Wh-" she didn't finish her word when Gin let out another scream, this time it registered in Reja's clouded mind. Anguish and pain filled the air with Gin's scream. Running past John and Dean, Reja ran into the house to find Gin crouched over a body that lay sprawled on the floor. At first Reja thought it was her father, but when he walked out of another room everything clicked in her mind. "No," she whispered walking closer to Gin's sobbing body. There in the, usually, bouncing redhead's arms was her brother. Blood was everywhere. Bile rose in her throat and her head began to pound with her heart. She didn't hear anything anymore, just the pounding._

_When she thought she was going collapse, arms wrapped around her tightly and held her up and in place. Dean. Tears wanted to fall but couldn't. Years of conditioning wouldn't allow it. Years of her father had destroyed that ability that made the anger rise and start to boil to the surface._

"_Casualty of war," her father's gruff voice broke through the boil. Flicking her eyesight to him she watched as he finished checking for any life left in her brother's body, for his soul. "Reja, go prepare a spot to start a fire. Get the supplies ready." She saw red; breaking from Dean's hold she launched herself at her father and pinned him to the wall behind her._

"_You are dead to me." She said coldly while holding a knife to his throat, slightly cutting into his skin. With that said she turned around and started to walk to the door._

"_You are a bigger disappointment, thought you were taught better." Her father sneered, whether he was going to say more was lost on anyone within hearing distance when Reja whirled around and threw the knife at him. Embedding itself in the plaster of the wall, barely an inch from his face. Even her father faltered at the clear meaning of this action._

"_Say another word and see what happens then. I'm done." She then left, walking past John and the distraught family. Pulling her crotch rocket off her dad's trailer, she took off and didn't look back.

* * *

_

_A.N- Sorry this chapter is so long over due. My computer crashed, causing me to lose everything. Including what I had already written for this story. This is to be the final chapter of this story, I do have idea's for a sequel. But I will only start working on it if I think anyone would want to read it. Tell me what you think!_

_

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